A statement often used when people don’t know how things will turn out. In reality, who does know the future but God? We may a catch glimpse of it through God’s Word, or through prophecy, or by looking at past patterns, but only God knows the future of the world, and our individual futures, down to the last detail.

Welcome to FREEDOM FRIDAY – A devotional, emotional, spiritual and sometimes hysterical series that I will be sharing on occasional Fridays, in addition to my regular Old Things New posts. Why? Because though once bound in chains Christ has set me free – FREE to live, to love, to dance, to sing, to be who God created me to be!

A couple of verses have stood out to me in my personal Bible reading lately:

“Listen to this, everyone – near and far: The Eternal One singled me out, even before I was born. He called me and named me when I was still in my mother’s belly . . . He kept my purpose quiet, kept me safe in the shadow of His hand.” Isaiah 49:1-2 (The Voice)

. . . and . . .

“I will go ahead of you and smooth the way, lower the heights, break down bronze doors, and cut through iron bars. I will give you hidden treasures and wealth tucked away in secret places; I will reveal them to you. Then you will know that I am the Eternal, the God of Israel, who calls you by name.” Isaiah 45:2-4 (The Voice)

Now, while these Old Testament Scriptures aren’t written ABOUT me, they are written FOR me and speak to me personally about how God works in my life and the lives of all Christ followers. He knew each of us and named us in ours mother’s wombs. He keeps our purpose quiet and keeps us safe in the shadow of His hand. He singled each of us out for a purpose. He goes before us to prepare the way, He opens closed doors, and as we seek Him He reveals hidden treasures to us, proving that He is God!

Do you see that? “He keeps our purpose quiet.”

Our Pastor recently gave a message where he talked about how Satan recognized Jesus as God’s promised Messiah and did everything in his power to destroy him while He was here on earth. He shared how each thing that Satan did against Jesus actually carried out Bible prophecy and played right into God’s perfect plan of redemption for humankind.

Satan didn’t know.

And Satan doesn’t know our futures either.

God has a plan for each and every Christ follower. Do you believe that? Two of my life verses are,

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jer. 29:11 (NIV)

and

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good,” Gen. 50:20 (ESV)

To stand strong against the enemy it is important to know who you are in Christ. (I gave you some Scripture references in the last FF, which you can refer back toHERE). Satan loves to throw accusations at us. Our Pastor has said many times that Satan would love to make you believe something about yourself that is untrue so that you will act like someone you’re not, but . . .

To know Him, and who you are in Him, it is important to spend time with Him. It is important to seek His Truth in Scripture because the Truth is what has the power to set us free. I Cor. 2:16 NIV says, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” Did you hear that? Scripture says that we have the mind of Christ! His Word is like food and water to us. It nourishes and strengthens us so we are able to live in victory rather than in defeat. It is through the Word that our minds are transformed (Rom. 12:2) and our thoughts become Christ’s thoughts.

He had no idea that some of the things he used to try to destroy my life played right into God’s plan for my life and my unique redemption story! If he had, he may have left this good little church girl alone to live a less than extraordinary church life!

What about you?

How have you handled your past failures? Do you still carry shame or do you believe God when He says that Jesus paid the price for your sins? Have you forgiven yourself? How have you handled the sins that others have committed against you? Are you still wearing the “victim” label or have you accepted your new identity in Christ? Are there any lies that you believe about yourself, lies others have told you or lies directly attributed to you by the enemy of your soul? What about the “hard thing” you are facing right now? Will you let that thing defeat you, or will you allow God to embolden you to stand strong in Him, knowing that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose? (Rom. 8:38), knowing that He goes before you to prepare a way for you and that He does have a plan for your life?

The answer to those questions is what will make Satan either regret or rejoice in the fact that he ever messed with you!

Believe that He has a good plan for your life and that your story can be used for Him. Believe that your life has purpose. Step into it! Walk boldly forward even when you aren’t exactly sure where He’s taking you. He goes before you and He is behind you!

Now THAT is exciting!

Our God, the one True God, stands above and behind history, the history of nations and individuals, directing and orchestrating events for His ultimate glory!

Six months living in our new South Carolina home and I am content. We’ve found our church home. We’ve made friends we can share a meal or a cup of coffee with. I’ve found a favorite grocery store and . . . dream of dreams . . . my favorite “junque” store! We have four times as many sunny days as we did back in Washington State and when I walk outdoors, even on the coldest winter day, the sun makes me smile . . . and smiling on the outside brings a smile right down into my insides. It is good. Most of the time . . .

Welcome to FREEDOM FRIDAY – A new devotional, emotional, spiritual and sometimes hysterical series that I will be sharing on occasional Fridays, in addition to my regular Old Things New posts. Why? Because though once bound in chains Christ has set me free – FREE to live, to love, to dance, to sing, to be who God created me to be!

When I began this Freedom Friday series my very first post was aboutFeeling Lonely,an emotion that wasn’t unexpected given that we’d just moved clear across the country to a place I didn’t really know.

My next post was onFriendship With God, where I talked about the challenge I gave myself to become more intimate with God by spending more time in His presence and waiting on Him to reveal Himself to me. Would that change me? It did. It has. God has brought me to a deeper knowledge of Him through the reading of His Word and journaling what He has been saying to me. What a luxury it has been to have more time with Him then I did when I was so busy. How blessed I’ve been to be able to spend extended time in God’s Presence.

Though my husband’s demanding work schedule prevents us from beginning a ministry like Freedom Session right now, smaller one-on-one ministry opportunities have opened up to us. We LOVE and believe in Freedom Session so much that it is sometimes disappointing to think that the door may not open for us to be involved in that same ministry again, and I’ve had to lay it all down and say, “Lord, I surrender the future to you and whatever you have for us is okay.”

In my intimate times with Him, God has been saying to me from Isaiah:

“Rest in me; in quietness and trust you will find strength; I am waiting to answer you; in waiting for Me you will find happiness. And when the answer comes He will say: “Go this way. There is your path; this is how you should go. I will see to it that your efforts are fruitful.”

Is this right Lord? Do you really have something more in store for us? I rest content in this place of “cocooning”, allowing God to minister to and strengthen me after four years of pouring out. It is good, very good. I believe that He does indeed have more for us because the story of healing He has done in our individual lives and in our marriage will not be wasted. So I wait with expectation . . .

until . . . just this week . . . the doubts began to flood over me again, making me feel like the opportunity to minister the way we used to might never come again.

Sometimes it doesn’t take much to throw me off balance:

I’m at the pool where I’m taking water aerobic classes. The pool is warm, I love to swim, and I’m one of the younger class participants so it makes me feel great about donning my swimsuit! After class I go into the locker room to change and see myself in the mirror. How cruel to put a fun house mirror in the dressing room. My thighs and tummy look larger than they do in the mirrors at home and there are dimples everywhere! My skin looks just like the skin of an old woman.

But the mirror doesn’t lie. It’s me . . . the almost 60-year-old Patti who (on the inside) still feels like the 17-year-old Patti who loved swimming in the cold lake, then lying on the dock afterwards to warm herself in the summer sun.

This thought pops into my head, “You are old!” I get dressed and head home where my husband is waiting for me. The thoughts continue and increase in volume as I drive, “Don’t you think you are getting a bit old to do any type of effective ministry? You’re reaching the age where no one will listen to what you have to say, especially young people. You aren’t strong enough to do a ministry like Freedom Session anymore. You don’t have what it takes. You are finished.”

“You are IRREVELANT!”

So with that word ringing in my head, a word that has been assaulting me over and over for the past couple of weeks, I walk in the door of my home. My husband sees my face and asks how I am, to which I answer, “I am old and IRRELEVANT!”

“Whoa! Where is that coming from?”

No answer from me for several minutes . . . then, “I want to retire.”

I don’t even work a job outside the home anymore but in in my head I’m thinking that I want to retire from responsibility, from caring about people, from pouring into the lives of others . . . from ministry . . . because I’m pretty sure that what I have to offer is of no interest to anyone. It doesn’t matter that I have a story to tell, that I have hope to offer to the hurting, or that I’ve seen the power of a redemption story shared. It doesn’t matter because I am old and irrelevant!

Then I ask my husband, “Am I delusional? Are all of these Scriptures I’ve been reading just a lie? Is all of the encouragement God has been giving me just in my head?”

“Absolutely not!” he answers. “We can’t live our lives to the fullest if we aren’t giving back!”

“But look at all of the old people who seem to disappear into the background of the churches, becoming invisible.”

“They are only invisible because they allow themselves to become that way,” my wise husband answers.

And I remember our dear friends Roger and Connie, still active in ministry to others. I think of Elder Pete and his wife Barb who are so key in the support they give to young Pastor Peter. I think of my own sister and brother-in-law, Sharon and John, who are still actively leading others through weekly Bible studies. All people in their 70’s.

I go in to take a shower and as the water pours over me I hear in my spirit another voice saying, “We are not called to be relevant, we are called to be salt.” The very words I typed into my iPhone notes on Sunday as our Pastor Roy spoke.

Awww . . . yes Lord. I am not called to be relevant to the way the world operates today. We Christ followers are a peculiar people. Set apart. Different. And it really doesn’t matter if I’m not relevant because I’m called to be SALT!

Sometimes I speak to myself in disparaging ways and I need to remind myself of who I am in Christ!

Sometimes it is the enemy of my soul who speaks lies to me and I may even believe the lies . . . for a little while . . . but I refuse to stay there, listening to the voice of defeat, because I have the very God of the Universe living inside me and He always turns me back toward the Truth!

Check out these verses. They are for YOU and for ME, because I know everyone gets discouraged:

I am complete in Him Who is the Head of all principality and power (Colossians 2:10).

I have the Greater One living in me; greater is He Who is in me than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

I have received the gift of righteousness and reign as a king in life by Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17).

I have received the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus, the eyes of my understanding being enlightened (Ephesians 1:17-18).

I have received the power of the Holy Spirit to lay hands on the sick and see them recover, to cast out demons, to speak with new tongues. I have power over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means harm me (Mark 16:17-18; Luke 10:17-19).

I have put off the old man and have put on the new man, which is renewed in the knowledge after the image of Him Who created me (Colossians 3:9-10).

I have given, and it is given to me; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, men give into my bosom (Luke 6:38).

I have no lack for my God supplies all of my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

I can quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one with my shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16).

So this is the real me this week. An inspirational blogger who has her ups and downs just like every other Christ follower. A ministry person who is having a time of refreshing while waiting for the next thing. A woman entering her 60th year believing that the things that God has planned for her future are greater than she could even imagine.

Prayer:Papa God, thank you that you give us discernment to know the truth from a lie. Thank you for your promises that tell us who we are in you and that you always KEEP your promises. For anyone reading this who may be listening to the lies of the enemy I ask that you would bind, gag and muzzle the enemy in their lives in Jesus name, and speak truth into their spirits, truth that would pour down into the very depths of their beings and change who they believe themselves to be. Speak to them who they really are in You! Lord, please restore hope to those who are feeling hopeless and give them a glimpse of what you have in store for those who love you. We lean on you for strength as we wait for the new thing you want to do in each of our lives. No looking back but looking ahead to what you have for each of us in Your Kingdom. Amen.

“Let me give you a hug,” said the 82-year-old Maery, as she bustled out from behind the sales counter. Then, wrapping me in a hug bigger than expected from such a tiny lady, she proclaimed for all to hear, ” I LOVE you!”

More later . . .

Welcome to FREEDOM FRIDAY – A new devotional, emotional, spiritual and sometimes hysterical series that I will be sharing on occasional Fridays, in addition to my regular Old Things New posts.

Today is my birthday and I’m bursting at the seams with excitement! No, I’m not really excited to be 59, hanging on the precipice of 60!!! I’ve not really minded the change from one decade to another before, but this one seems more intimidating. Maybe that’s because there have been so many changes in my life this year and I’m feeling a little less secure. I’m still standing on The Rock though so I’ll wait to see how I feel next year!

What I AM excited about is a birthday present I received this year. It was an early present that I’ve been just dying (slight exaggeration) to share with you.

Would you like to play the same “What is it?” game we played in the last Freedom Friday? Let’s not!

Because I want to get right to this gift from my amazing husband who knew, in spite of the price, that this was a treasure that couldn’t be passed up.

He knows well the deep meaning Blue Herons hold for me.

Let’s go back to a day, not so many years ago, when I was struggling with depression and despair. Though I was active in a good church and doing all of the things that good Christians do, I felt as if I wasn’t enough. I didn’t measure up to all of the “beautiful” Christians around me.It wasn’t their fault that I felt this way. It was something inside me that was broken . . . a deep sense of shame and feelings of unworthiness. I had spent a lot of time attempting to build my life into something impressive so I would be deemed worthy of love. I tried really hard to be “Perfect Patti” and I looked pretty good to others . . . on the outside . . . while on the inside I still believed words of condemnation I’d received early in life and had accepted into the depths of my being. These words defined me. Sinner, failure, not enough, reject . . . the list goes on.

These words became part of how I defined myself and I wore them as labels. No one else could see the labels but I knew they were there and sometimes others sensed it too and treated me accordingly.

So back to that day, not so many years ago, when I was at the beginning of my healing journey, surrounded by people who saw the pain within me and began showing me the way to freedom and healing. I was taking a Bible study by Beth Moore. I don’t remember exactly which one but in her video message she talked about recognizing the way God smiles at us in little ways throughout our days. I wanted to experience that! I wanted to know God in a deeper, more intimate way and hear Him speak to me. I wanted to recognize the smiles He sent my way. So that is what I prayed, sitting on my couch, in the living room of our lake house. After praying I stood up and went to the window. Looking out at the lake and down at our dock below I saw a Great Blue Heron standing there. We saw them occasionally in that house and it was always a treat, but never moreso than this particular day.

The Great Blue Heron stood on the dock while in the water near the shore a flock of ducks swam circles around each other, quacking excitedly, diving beneath the water and popping up again with seeming glee. Not to anthropomorphize little duckies but that is what it seemed like to me. They brought to mind all of the “beautiful” Christian women I knew, energetic, friendly and full of joy.

I saw that all of the cute little ducks paddling around were content to be just who they were created to be.

God spoke to my heart that day and He gave me more than just a smile . . .

. . . as He showed me something about the Great Blue Heron also.

I saw that he was a bit awkward compared to the others and from past experience I knew that he was terribly shy, sometimes flying away as soon as one came to stand near the window. He was very awkward when he walked, with his funny knocked-knees (something I share in common with him by the way). Though pretty in color (a nice dresser) he didn’t exhibit a lot of grace standing all alone on my dock. Then, that Great Blue Heron began to move, taking one slow step after another down the length of the dock. And in an instant, his wings came up, his feet pushed off and he was in the air, soaring with great grace and beauty. When he stopped walking and used his wings to rise up and soar . . . he became a magnificent sight to behold!

Yes, God smiled at me through the antics of the duckies and the magnificence of the Great Blue Heron that day. It was as if He spoke to my heart personally and said, “You are a Great Blue Heron. You may feel awkward but you were meant to soar!”

Do you think it odd that I would say that God spoke to me that day? It wasn’t an audible voice and it wasn’t in the usual way He gets my attention, through Scripture or another person speaking to me, or even that still, small voice. This was a different type of experience and one I’ve only had a few times in my life. It was an experience never to be forgotten that began a big shift in my life.

It wasn’t much longer after that, that we began teaching Freedom Session, to share with others the healing we’d received ourselves. Then, a couple of years into Freedom Session, another amazing thing happened on a regular old day while I was mopping the floor. I was suddenly filled with great joy as the thought came into my head,

“I’m not the same person I once was but I’ve become the person God created me to be!”

It was a sudden recognition of how dramatically I’d changed on the inside and the difference it made on the outside.

Through my healing journey and through our own teaching of Freedom Session, old labels were removed and new ones put in place, my cloak of shame was replaced with a robe of righteousness, my fear was replaced with confidence that God would work through me . . . even when I was weak . . . especially when I was weak. I realized in that moment the extent of the transformation that had taken place within me.

Becoming a Christ follower doesn’t mean that everything suddenly becomes perfect. Some of us have more wounds than others but we all have them and we all need to learn to offer them up to the one who died to take them from us. He bore in His body all of our sin, our hurts, wounds, abuses, and heartbreaks. This post today isn’t meant to give you all the answers for how to do that (I wish you could all find a Freedom Session near you, or teach one yourselves!) but it is meant to offer you hope in knowing that with God change is possible. God has delivered me, he is delivering me and he will deliver me. It is a process, this working out of our salvation, this being transformed from glory to glory.

I wonder, does it seem prideful of me, to claim to be like a Great Blue Heron as opposed to a cute little duck? I don’t mean to give the impression that God was saying I was better than others, just different. And we are all different. We are all uniquely endowed with individual gifts and talents. YOU are special! Are you acting like it? Are you using the gifts God has blessed you with or are you hiding behind old labels or words that others spoke into your life? Words that have inhibited you from doing what you should be doing? If you feel a little tugging at your heart here, that’s God! Life is so much better when you can stop walking awkward and lift your wings. Let Him take you soaring. Let Him take you into the places where you’ve been afraid to journey and allow Him to be your strength . . . because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

So back to little Maery, who owned the store of “pretties”, where we found The Great Blue Heron. She is a woman interested in others and she questioned me about my excitement over the Heron. So I shared, and as I did it became obvious to me that in hearing my story she was moved with some emotion of her own. She then shared a bit of her story, a story of loss and the pain of being a refugee from her home country. Her story had the happy ending of God’s provision, restoration and a life well lived. Isn’t God amazing? He used my story that day to bless Maery and He used Maery to bless me by lavishing her (and His) love back on me. This makes me think we should all be sharing our stories a bit more.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We know that you formed us in our mother’s wombs. You’ve numbered every hair on our heads. You know our beginning and our end. You created each of us and you have a path for each of us to follow. Lord, show us your path and then be our strength to walk it out. Show us how to lean into Your strength and draw from You what we need to push off, to lift up and to soar to new heights. Not to be great ourselves but to make Your name great with a testimony of Your transforming power. Please Lord, show everyone who reads this, and feels like they don’t measure up, that there is so much more for them. Show each one the way to become the person that you created them to be. Amen.

If I share with you yet another area of weakness will you judge? Will you think to yourself that I am a terrible leader of people because I don’t have it all together myself? Today’s Freedom Friday post is yet another lesson I’m learning during this time of becoming more dependent on God to meet my need for friendship. This is an honest, from-the-heart post that exposes more of the real me. I hope that you will read and NOT judge . . .

. . . After all, maybe some of you are a bit like me.

Welcome to FREEDOM FRIDAY – A new devotional, emotional, spiritual and sometimes hysterical series that I will be sharing on occasional Fridays, in addition to my regular Old Things New posts.

As I mentioned in my first Freedom Friday post I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of Knowing and Being Known. In that post I shared that I believe God has given me this time of not knowing anyone in our new community so that I will draw closer to Him and spend more time in His Presence . . . knowing and being known by Him.

Having been Freedom Session Directors for the past four years I can tell you that doing the ministry that God has called one to can be an exciting thing! Who knew that God would ever be able to use my story to help others? Life experience brought me low but God intervened and sent people who believed in me, supported me, encouraged me and brought great healing into my life by loving on me without reservation. In that process I became better, I grew, I changed, and I received such freedom that I wanted to help others.

In the beginning I could barely stand in front of people with a microphone without shaking in my pretty boots (a feeling that has never fully left me), but in stepping out of my comfort zone, sharing my own story, and offering hope in Christ to others, I’ve been blessed to see many people set free of the shackles that have bound them for years, even as practicing Christians.

When all of the work you pour into a ministry like Freedom Session results in victory in people’s lives it is not only exciting but can be a heady thing!

Each year, as we started up a new year in Freedom Session I would pray this prayer,

And God faithfully answered.

I would also often say, “I want to do BIG things for you God!”

Thinking back I’ve been asking myself what the motives were behind those prayers?

I believe they were mostly good but I wonder, now that I am in a place where I’m not known or recognized at all when I walk into a church . . . when I don’t have people deliberately making their way over to me to give me a hug or an encouraging word . . . when I don’t have people thanking me for teaching a particularly important lesson . . . am I okay with not being known?

I’m not particularly fond of a lot of public praise or having attention drawn to myself. In fact it can be quite embarrassing. This stems from a period of negative attention received in the past.

But being known in a positive way was kinda’ nice.

In this new place of BIG churches I am not REALLY known by anyone. I’m also not doing BIG things for God! What I am able to do is spend a lot of time GOING DEEPER with God and I’m finding that this season of going deeper is good, REALLY good!

One of my favorite authors, Ann Voskamp says, “All wonder and worship can only grow out of smallness”.

In this place of smallness, of being unknown, I lean in to God and He does not disappoint as He pours out His lavish love and affection on me. In this place of being small I can see how big GOD is to meet all my needs. As I become small before Him He is magnified and I am comforted.

And I realize that I don’t need to do BIG things or GREAT things for God. He doesn’t need me to make His name great. He doesn’t need me to do anything for Him at all. because He is the God of all GREATNESS!

Yet . . . and this is a big YET. . . as Christ followers we are all called to be a part of the greater story . . . His Story. Each of our lives are meant to be shared with others to encourage and draw them to Christ. Scripture says that we are chosen and appointed to bear fruit! – John 15:16.

As we play our part in God’s story it is important to remember that our stories shouldn’t make US great but should always point to Christ and His greatness!

What about you? Maybe you feel lower than low and you can’t even relate to what I’ve said. Maybe you’ve never had the experience of feeling important to anyone. In that case, if you are a Christ follower, you need to know who Christ says you are in Him:

You are CHOSEN – Eph. 1:3-8; You are God’s workmanship – Eph. 2:10; You are a new creation – II Cor. 5:17; You are redeemed and forgiven – Col. 1:13-14; You are free of condemnation – Rom. 8:1-2; You are complete in Christ – Col. 2:9-10; You are God’s beloved child – John 1:12.

You are SIGNIFICANT!

On the other hand, maybe you’ve become impressed with your own importance. Maybe it’s happened gradually without your even becoming aware of it. Perhaps you’ve even become consumed by it. Here is a gentle reminder that Mr. OTN is fond of using, “There is only one God and you are not Him!”

Prayer:

Papa God – Help me to maintain proper balance in my service to you. Help me not to become “heady” over the victories. Help me also not to sink back into the old feelings of being “less than” all of the beautiful Christians around me. Keep my eyes focused on You and Your GREATNESS! Keep me in this place of being dependent upon you and daily amazed by YOU! Continue to guide me as I play my part in the greatest story ever told. YOUR story!

Finally Lord, my prayer is this . . . that if there is anything at all great about me that it be You IN me!

My word for the year 2014 is “AUTHENTICITY”. The word came to me a couple of months ago and I said out loud, “What? How can I be more authentic?” You see, I stand up in front of people every week and tell my story, and much of it isn’t very pretty. Mr. OTN and I are Directors of a 9 month long class called Freedom Session. Part of the teaching that we do is authentically sharing our own messy stories so that others can find hope and freedom.

“What can I do to be more authentic?,” I ask myself.

“You can take a risk. You can tell those who have never heard your story what is really behind that smiling face and the funny things you do to make others laugh. Maybe they will relate to you more . . . or maybe they will decide they don’t like you at all. “

That is the risk of authenticity.

As part of my new blog design I’ve added an About Page with a short video of Mr. OTN and myself sharing a very small part of Our Story. I’ve added Our Story because it is what motivates so much of what we do in life. Our pain, turned to victory and joy is what drives us to share with others that there is HOPE. As our participants come along on the Freedom Session journey with us we even offer to let them borrow our hope for awhile until they can find their own.

Are you curious now? Click HERE for more, but don’t forget to come back when you’re done!

So that’s it. Our Story on video may seem to be more about my husband’s journey, with me tagging along, than my own personal story. But believe me when I say that my journey also has its ups and downs. I’ve lived so much of my life trying to live up to some ideal that wasn’t possible to achieve. My life is NOT perfect. I am NOT perfect. Thank God I no longer have to strive for perfection to prove my worth . . . for it is by grace that I have been saved through faith in Jesus Christ.

Thank you for watching My Story. I hope it will help you see why I have such a love for making OldThingsNew, whether that be transforming old items from broken to beautiful or helping people on the journey toward freedom where they can live life to the fullest.

I am Perfectly Imperfect Patti, daughter of the King, wife to the amazing Mr. OTN, mom to two grown daughters, a great son-in-law, and companion to two spoiled dogs. At Old Things New I share DIY’s, budget friendly home transformations, as well as posts about how God transforms our souls. I myself have been made new and I love to share what I’ve learned through WRITING and SPEAKING. To view a short Vimeo of “Our Story” (Mr. OTN and I) please follow the link at the top of the page.

Disclosure: Old Things New is a participant in the Amazon affiliate advertising program, which is designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com . . . or, in other words, Shopping through my links helps Old Things New keep the lights on!